Human Connection Dies Slow Death To Virtual World

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They walked hand in hand, their eyes glued deep into the news feed that was streaming from their hand-held device. They were next to each other but not with each other. How can this be?

It seems as if people have traded their souls and deep emotional connections for an artificial means of connecting to one another.

It has become commonplace in our society to see individuals with some sort of device in their hand. No longer are people conversing with the person in front of them, but rather, a person that is miles away.

What is the fascination and obsession that people have with the world that is streaming from their device? Why do people still get together with one another when they are more intrigued with the person or things on their device? Certainly, people can do their virtual-socializing alone.

People do not want to be alone though. While it is possible to survive alone in this world, there has always been and always will be an innate longing to be with others. That is what sets the human race apart from artificial things.

When did society loose their sight on what is really important? It did not happen overnight, but rather over time. So-called advancements in communicating tricked society into thinking they would be happier and more content by engaging in social networks instead of investing in the lives of the persons around them.

The world welcomed the technology that gave them instant access to anyone and anything in the world. But what got lost in the process?

The emotional connection has been lost. Society seems to have forgotten how to interact appropriately with people, the warm-blooded person in front of them that is. Looking into someone’s eyes, giving the other person their full attention, listening and responding by look, gesture or tone of voice. All these things seem to be a lost art of communicating when actually these are the very basics of good communication. It is these things that bring about intimacy, trust, and dependable relationships.

Society slowly started to accept as a norm that people would pay more attention to the virtual world in their hands rather than the people around them. Technology numbed society’s perception of genuine closeness. Technology beckoned society with promises of “connectivity” and left a feeling of emptiness in its wake. What society was so desperately searching for, closeness to another, they gave up. Did society sell its soul to the devil?

According to the Biblical Research Institute, “soul” refers to the totality of theperson as a center of life, emotions, feelings, and longings that can be fully realized onlyin union with God. With that belief, one could suggest that people have an innate longing to be connected with another person. But, over the years and with advancements in technology we have substituted person-to-person interaction for a shallow and meaningless version of connecting with others.

A disconnect has occurred. Men and women between the ages of 21 to 65 were randomly interviewed in downtown Rapid City and they all agreed that people spent too much time on their phones rather than enjoying the company of the person(s) in front of them. One 65-yr old gentleman emphatically said “There is no human connection anymore. It does not exist.”

Is there hope of getting back to what was so good to start with? When society consciously decides to put their devices down and engage with one another again on a deep personal level, true and lasting connections can grow and thrive.

Deep, genuine human connection is in the early stages of death and unless people realize the treasure they already have in front of them, this connection will always elude them and might forever be lost.